Reviews tagging 'Child death'

We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride, Jo Piazza

41 reviews

kenzieburns's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Required reading for White people. This book caused so many emotions in me: uncomfortable, angry, sad, annoyed, and so many others. I gave this 4 stars because while the message and emotion was there, the writing fell a bit flat at times. Like, I fully expected to bawl, but the prose just didn't move me like I expected it to, despite the tragic subject matter. For all the pros (if you can call them that) of this book, though: I thought the authors did a great job of showing "both sides" and the internal/external conflicts around race in the horrible situation Riley and Jen were in. When the tension came to a front in their friendship with the conversation in the car, I think the authors did well to make it not a complete resolution to the tension, and I also think they did well to "give credit" to both sides, both in that convo and throughout the book. I was equally frustrated with Jen's naïveté and Riley's refusal to call Jen out, and then in that convo I could really sympathize with both Riley's frustration and anger and Jen feeling like Riley didn't give her a chance by always hiding the "hard" parts from her. 

Above all else, I appreciated that this book made me wrestle with my biases. I think the authors did something important in

making it so that Kevin wasn't the "main officer at fault"

in the shooting, because it made me more sympathetic to Kevin/Jen, even though the whole point is that the system is broken and Kevin and all cops are as much at fault in being complicit in the system. It was hard to care for Jen as a character while knowing that truthfully she and Kevin are racist in their biases and complacency in the system. I also really appreciated Riley's perspective, especially for how it showed the intricacies of being a successful Black woman in a predominantly White world. I feel like, though I'll never fully and truly understand what it's like to be Black, I could gain more insight and understanding for the uphill battle that exists for Black people, especially Black women, in America. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Gun violence, and Child death

elynn726's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Racism

Moderate: Police brutality and Sexual content

mdavis26's review against another edition

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, and Child death

guardianofthebookshelf's review against another edition

fast-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Child death, Death, Pregnancy, Police brutality, and Gun violence

kdonovan's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Racism, Police brutality, and Child death

Moderate: Miscarriage and Infertility

Minor: Grief and Racial slurs

lucyreadsbooks12's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infertility, Child death, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Racism

wellreadmegs's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book was obviously a heavy but necessary read. I think this book is great for book clubs especially to have tough conversations and discuss the issues of race and police brutality in America. I thought the book started out strong and took a strong stance on the issue that unfortunately didn't carry throughout. 

I thought the ending was swift and almost made it feel swept under the rug - as most of these cases do. I appreciated the authors didn't offer forgiveness or unloading of burdens for the Murphy's but I also feel like they got off pretty easy in the grand scheme of things. 

I would have given this book 5 stars if it included the court proceedings, trial, and character witness statements. I think that would have been very impactful. Personally, I didn't think we needed a love story of any sort for Riley in this book - it felt like an afterthought until the end. 

Again I think this book is great to start a dialogue, especially for white men and women, and would recommend to any book club but left a few things to be desired from the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, Child death, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Racism

d0505's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Gun violence, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Racism and Infertility

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

i really disliked this. i can see what the authors were trying to do, but this just feels like a cheap caricature of police brutality. in the end, it feels like they are supporting it and trying to have us agree.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence

lindsayerin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Police brutality, Gun violence, Racism, Pregnancy, and Child death

Moderate: Grief